A/N Okay around now a lot of things in the show started coming up. New characters having scenes with cryptic conversations and things like that. I'm not going to bother repeating all that and assume that you all know what happens in the show well enough to know what happened in it, of course I'll make it clear as to what's going on in my fanfic, but just incase something confuses you I thought I'd say that. Anyway, here's the next chapter, please enjoy and review.

Summary: What would the show have been like if Jessi came into it at the same time as Kyle? If Kyle wasn't alone? If the Tragers gained two more children? KESSI

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Kyle xy, although I wish I did so that I could keep it from being cancelled :'(


Chapter 12

'So, where have you two been?' Lori asked without looking away from the television.

'On the roof and talking to Amanda,' Kyle replied truthfully.

Lori looked up, surprised by the simple response. 'Oh,' she said. 'So, how much trouble am I in for leaving you two here by yourselves?' She said a look of doom shrouding her face.

'Oh, they don't know.' Jessi said smiling brightly.

Lori let out a sigh of relief, relaxing again. She looked up at them and saw their clothes were dirty from the roof. She sighed again. 'Okay, you both really need to have a shower.' She said, not unkindly.

***

'We need a cover story.' Lori said to Kyle who now occupied the couch after his shower, looking up at her who was pacing in front of the TV.

'Cover story?' he asked.

'You know, something to tell mum and dad about what we did today so they don't figure out I lost my job.' She explained, never stopping her pacing.

'You want me to lie?' Kyle asked, a frown overcoming his face as it did every time he thought of lying. Of course he just had to Amanda but that wasn't like this. He wasn't hiding anything and they might not do it again but she didn't know everything and both Kyle and Jessi knew that there was no danger to them jumping off the roof.

'You could put it that way.' Lori said, trying to reason with him. She threw a hand out in a random gesture and turned to him, exasperated. 'Come on, Kyle. You're a guy. Lying should come naturally to you.'

'It should?' Kyle said, eyebrows shooting up in surprise at this apparent revelation.

'Lying is like a part of your make up.' Lori explained, starting to get slightly carried away in her argument.

'It doesn't feel like it…' Kyle said looking down at himself, as if expecting to see it there.

'Believe me, men lie. It's fact. And what's even worse?' She continued, almost entering full rant mode.

'Something worse?' Kyle asked, failing to realize she wasn't really listening to him anymore.

'Men want women to lie to them, too.' Lori said, throwing her hands out again in annoyance.

'We do?' Kyle said, his face now furrowing in confusion, trying to think f he had ever felt like that.

'Yes!' Lori exclaimed, quickly continuing. 'Because if we dare tell you the truth, if we tried to truly express our feelings, men freak them out. You'd rather we just keep on lying to you so you don't have to... I don't know… like commit?'

' I don't understand.' Kyle said, shaking his head and smiled lightly at the crazy way Lori seemed to have to communicate her feelings.

'Well, that makes two of us.' She said, turning and walking out of the room.

'Don't worry, that wasn't about you,' Jessi said, obviously back from her shower and seeming to know more about what Lori had just said than Kyle. 'She goes off on those rants when she is talking about Declan.' She said simply shrugging her shoulders as if it were a usual occurrence.

Kyle couldn't help but wonder what went on those nights that Jessi had to stay in Lori's room.

********************************

That night everyone was at the dinner table, Kyle and Jessi seated one side as was no customary.

'So Kyle, Jessi, how did it go at the coffee shop today?' Stephen asked, looking over at them while chewing on some beans.

Kyle looked down at his plate, biting his lips slightly not knowing what to say. After all, Lori never did come up with a cover story.

'It was fine, we just drew some more pictures.' Jessi spoke up, getting a slightly disbelieving and disapproving look from Kyle, seeing it only out of the corner of her eye.

'Yeah, she drew a really nice one of Kyle.' Lori chimed in figuring if her parents asked they could just use one of the ones Jessi had drawn at the Juvie center.

Kyle's eyes darted back and forth from Lori to Jessi, wondering if he should say anything.

'Oh, that's good.' Nicole said.

There was a slight lull in conversation before Stephen spoke again. 'And Josh, how did that test go?'

'I passed. Yea, all that hard work really paid off.' Josh said with a sly smile that his parents missed.

'Are you sure you didn't cheat?' Lori said, snorting in disbelief.

'Lori-' Nicole began, but she couldn't finish as she was interrupted by the now very uncomfortable Kyle, who seemingly burst with the secrets he was meant to be keeping.

'Jessi took the test for Josh and I helped…' he said, his eyes wide and scared having no idea if what he was doing was the right thing.

'What! He's lying!' Josh said, seeing both his parents stare at him with a look that clearly said they didn't believe him.

Kyle turned to Jessi who was staring at her plate, trying not to draw attention to herself, but she grabbed his hand under the table to show her support. For once he needed her strength, not the other way around.

With her by his side Kyle continued. 'It's the truth. And we weren't at the coffee bar; we were here all by ourselves.' He finished feeling only slightly better at having told the truth. He gripped Jessi's hand tighter in his, unsure of what he had just done. She looked at him sideways and gave a small smile only for him, squeezing his hand in return.

'Shut up, Kyle!' Lori close to screamed, looking at him with betrayal written on her face. Kyle looked down at his plate, hating that he had made them upset.

'Why didn't you take them?' Nicole asked, upset.

'I got fired, ok? Thanks a lot.' She slammed her fork down and lowered her eyes, not wanting to see her parent's disappointed looks.

'Yeah Kyle. I thought you were my friend.' Josh muttered with distain.

'I never wanted you to begin with.' Lori said, not looking at anyone.

Kyle looked hurt and as soon as Lori finished talked a single tear fell from his eye. Then he stood and ran from the room, no one noticing that Jessi was looking down, hair obscuring her face and hadn't moved since they began talking.

Nicole was about to interject; disgusted with her own children but she didn't have the time before someone else did for her.

As Jessi heard the words coming out of their mouths she felt the most unbelievable anger, even hatred towards them and their lack of brains. She saw red, her hands clenching into fists and her teeth grinding together in an effort to stop her from doing anything drastic.

She slowly stood in her place, still looking down. She raised her head just slightly and stared Lori straight in the eyes, seeing the fear come over her almost immediately.

None of the family had ever seen her like this. There was fire in her eyes, which had darkened quite a few shades giving her an extremely intense appearance. They saw her look at Lori and had no idea what to expect.

When she spoke it was closer to a growl than anything they had ever heard come out of the human being before.

'How DARE you!?' Jessi said, emphasizing the middle word, stepping around the table and advancing on Lori, who now stood and backed away, frightened.

As Jessi walked the lights in the dining room, living room and kitchen began to flicker.

'You were the ones who asked him to lie for you.' She said, now her gaze was flickering between Josh and Lor who was standing, more like cowering, behind his chair. 'It is your own fault it ended like this. Any idiot could have figured out he was uncomfortable with lying but NO.' She slammed a hand down on the table making everyone jump in shock as the light above the table exploded in a thousand tiny piece. But this didn't seem to phase Jessi as she walked even closer. Then her voice reverted back to the chillingly quiet one she had started with. 'No you used him for your own selfish needs and games because you couldn't face your own failures.' She glared hard at them for a minute. She did not intend to cause them bodily harm for she knew Kyle would not want it, even after what they had done to him.

She also knew at the same time he didn't care that she was doing this and wouldn't be angry, otherwise he would have already stopped her, for she was sure that from his place on the roof he knew what was going on.

'Jessi-' Nicole began, about to tell her to calm down, slightly worried about what she might do. She was stopped at the look Jessi sent her way that said if she tried to stop her this would just get a whole lot worse.

'Jessi calm down.' Stephen spoke up this time.

'I'm not going to hurt them.' Jessi said, directing it at both Stephen and Nicole, 'physically.' She added with a slightly feral grin that was gone almost as soon as it appeared. She then continued, looking back at Lori and Josh. 'Do you two have any idea how hard it is to wake up everyday and know nothing about who you are or where you come from? You are the first brother and sister we have ever known, he loves you more than you know, more than you could possibly understand.' She saw tears start falling down both their cheeks, Lori moreso than Josh, but she felt no sympathy; they disserved what they were getting. 'You're just stupid children. You whine about your parents not treating you like grown ups and yet can't even face losing a job or failing a test.' She took one more look at them and slowly felt the anger dissipate now only feeling a deep-rooted betrayal and disappointment. She let she almost animalistic stance slacken and she stood up straight, tense.

'Pathetic.' She said, practically spitting out the words as she looked at them and finding it the only word adequate to describe them in that moment.

She began walking from the room, realizing the whole family was still silent. She felt Kyle's pain and knew he was crying. She turned. 'You have no idea how much you've hurt him.' She said, before turning back and rushing from the room and out the door, the same way Kyle went.

The family sat in silence, having no idea what to say. Lori turned to Nicole. 'Mum I-'

Nicole silenced her with a look of great disappointment. 'I don't want to hear it Lori. Go to bed.'

'But-'

'Now!' She yelled, hardly ever raising her voice to her own children. 'We'll talk about it in the morning.'

'You to Josh,' Stephen said, slightly more calmly.

Josh did not argue, he nodded looking down and trudged up the stairs, stopping half way and looking back down. 'Please just, tell Kyle I'm sorry if you see him tonight?'

They both nodded at him, knowing how bad he was feeling right now and taking a small amount of pity on him.

'Should we-' Nicole asked.

Stephen instantly knew what she was talking about. 'I don't think so. Let her talk to him first.'

Nicole nodded and looked down, struggling not to cry at the seeming inpending breakdown of their new family. Stephen gathered her into a gentle and protective hug, kissing her on the forehead in reassurance.

Meanwhile outside Jessi had climbed the roof in the traditional Kyle and Jessi way and sat down next to him. At seeing the tears still rolling over his cheeks and feeling his pain inside her she finally felt it was time for her to be the strong one, it was time for him to let go and show weakness.

She gathered him into her arms, hugging him. He cried lightly into her shoulder, not making much noise but she could feel the wetness seeping through her top.

'Its okay Kyle, you did the right thing.' She said quietly, trying to comfort him.

He pulled away just enough to be able to see her face and look her in the eye.

'Then why does it feel so wrong?' He asked.

She didn't have an answer and she had to control herself from crying as well at seeing him so heartbroken and feeling intense pain fill her up so completely.

Instead of answering she coaxed him down into a lying down position, herself staying sitting up, and laid his head in her lap. She gently stroked his hair, letting her fingers twist through its softness and said nothing, knowing that she probably couldn't make it any better yet.

And so she sat in silence with him, silently offering him her strength, their roles suddenly reversed; she only wished it was under better circumstances. She looked down at him and saw his eyes closed and she knew he was listening once again to her heartbeat as a way of calming himself down.

Stephen walked out the front door half an hour later to check on them, Nicole following just behind. They looked around, spotting the two in the same position near the edge of the roof.

Jessi saw them and knew it was time to go back down and face the real world. She gently shook Kyle awake, as he had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes ago. Kyle saw them also and sighed sitting up and rubbing his eyes, feeling them sting slightly.

'I won't leave you for a second.' She whispered to him, once again taking hold of his hand.

He looked at her, not appearing happy but better than before. 'Promise?' He whispered back.

She wiped away any sign of tears left and nodded, giving him a tiny smile, not expecting one in return. He did not smile but did do something she hadn't expected. He lent forward and gently kissed her on the forehead, almost in a way of thanks but still more than that. She felt warmth expand inside her at the contact and smiled as his lips lingered a little longer than necessary. They both drew comfort form the light contact and wanted it to last as long as possible.

Nicole and Stephen watched the whole interaction from when Jessi woke Kyle up and couldn't help but marvel at how grown up and intense they seemed together.

Once they had climbed down Nicole immediately rushed up to Kyle and took him into her arms, squeezing him tightly and receiving the pressure just as great in return.

'Kyle, they didn't mean it. We all love you,' her eyes flicked over to Jessi for moment who was standing back a little, and held her gaze. 'Both of you.' She said. Once she saw Jessi nod in understanding she stepped away, leaving room for Jessi to walk back to his side and let her hand fall back into place surrounded by his.

Stephen put an arm around his shoulders and smiled. 'Come on son, let's get you into a nice comfy…' He got a strange look on his face. 'Bath tub.' He finished.

No one could help letting out a small laugh at this as they walked back inside.

Kyle was beyond grateful when he realized Lori and Josh were already in bed and asleep. That night he didn't sleep, but he had Jessi with him and she held him all night, whispering words in his ear to ease his feeling of pain and rejection.

The next morning Kyle and Jessi cautiously went downstairs, still close by each other. It seemed like Kyle tried to walk as close to Jessi as he could, like he was physically drawing strength from her.

They entered the kitchen and saw Nicole, Stephen and Josh there eating breakfast. They stopped at the entrance.

Everyone was silent and both Kyle and Jessi saw the nudge that Stephen gave Josh.

Josh stood and stepped towards them. 'Kyle, man.' He started. He wasn't good at this and had know idea what to say so things jut started coming out. 'I am such an idiot and I hate myself and I never should have made you lie. What I said last night was ridiculous, you're my brother and of course you're my friend… you're my best friend and—

Kyle watched him and saw the sincerity in his eyes and his expression softened. He took a step away from Jessi and towards Josh. 'Josh,' he interrupted. 'It's okay.' He said, walking forward hesitantly.

He pulled Josh into a short and "manly" hug as a sign of forgiveness, pulling away and smiling at him, not fully but it was enough… for now.

They both all about to sit down again when Kyle and Jessi turned at hearing someone coming down the stairs and into the kitchen.

At seeing the two there looking at her she stopped, looking up at Kyle, seeing the pain and hurt she had caused him and wishing she could take it all back, knowing this might be her only chance to do just that.

Kyle saw her and instantly felt all the bad feelings come back with a vengeance. Her comment had hurt the worst, had hit the deepest.

Jessi felt the emotions and walked forward, refusing to leave his side as Lori stepped closer. Jessi looked at her and glared, warning her with her eyes not to come any closer until she at least made a proper apology.

Lori stepped back again and sighed, looking at the floor and trying to find the words.

'Look, I know what I said was totally unfair and cruel but I didn't mean it. Kyle, you are my brother and I love you and I guess it was just frustration building up in me from losing my job and getting caught out. I'm really really sorry and I can't blame you if you choose not to forgive me but I want to at least ask you to think about it. I've always wanted a big brother.' She finished, trying not to cry.

Everyone's eyes turned to Kyle to see his reaction.

He looked at her, searching her. He saw just as clearly as he saw from Josh that she was being truthful but he remember what she said and how it was exactly the one thing he had feared the most since he arrived here and he found himself unable to reassure her as he had Josh. He looked at her for another minute and than left the room, walking past her without a word.

The Tragers were stunned and Lori was now in tears, only Jessi had an idea that that was coming. She knew he wanted to be alone and so grudgingly sat at the breakfast table beside Josh and the family had a silent breakfast, the only sound being Lori's quiet sniffles on the other side.

No one moved to comfort her.

A/N So what do you think? Was he too harsh on Lori or not? I decided that since Kyle was always so forgiving I might try something different. Also I really wanted this chapter to show Jessi's strong side and Kyle's weak and vulnerable side. I hope you liked it and please please please review!!

CrackedMetal.